“The two sections of the Penal Code involved in this case will now be quoted but, for the sake of brevity, without the explanations and illustrations appended to them. Section 115. “Whoever being or expecting to be a public servant accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain from any person for himself or for any other person any gratification whatever whether pecuniary or otherwise, other than lawful remuneration, as a motive or reward -(a) for doing or forbearing to do any official act; or (b) for showing or forebearing to show in the exercise of his official functions favour or disfavour to any person; or (c) For rendering or attempting to render any service or disservice to any person with any department of the public service or with any public servant as such, shall be punished- (i) With imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years or with fine or with both; (ii) If such public servant is a public servant in the service of the Government of the Northern Region or of the Government of the Federation acting in a judicial capacity or carrying out the duties of a police officer, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen years or with fine or with both.” Section 119. “Whoever being a public servant accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain for himself or for any other person any valuable thing without consideration or for a consideration which he knows to be inadequate- (a) from any person whom he knows to have been or to be or to be likely to be concerned in any proceeding or business transacted or about to be transacted by such public servant or having any connection with the official functions of himself or of any public servant to whom he is subordinate; or (b) from any person whom he knows to be interested in or related to the person so concerned, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with fine or with both. “The two sections do not cover precisely the same field: for example Section 119 is confined to a person who is a public servant, but Section 115 includes also a person who expects to be a public servant; and there may be other differences besides. The two sections do, however, have some common ground. There may be a case in which someone who is a public servant accepts a gift from a person who, to his knowledge, was concerned or was likely to be concerned in some official business transacted or about to be transacted by the public servant or having some connection with his official functions. His mere acceptance of the gift would be an offence under Section 119; but if the gift was received as a motive or reward for showing favour in the exercise of his official functions, he would be guilty of an offence under Section 115. As the two sections do not cover precisely the same field, it is important, when the charge is laid under Section 115, to see whether the particulars of the charge contain also the ingredients of an offence under Section 119. Thus the statement of law quoted earlier from Bate J.’s judgment should not be read as a general statement that any charge for an offence under Section 115 includes an offence under Section 119…”
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